124. Spicy Chicken Sandwich With a Side of Culture War

“I Was a Heretic at the New York Times,” an Atlantic essay by Adam Rubinstein, exploded on the old Twitter/X/Hate Machine. The story opens at a staff orientation where Rubinstein expresses love for Chick-Fil-A’s spicy chicken sandwich and gets rebuked. Did it happen? Can we know? What sauce goes best with a spicy chicken sandwich ? That one we know: Honey-roasted BBQ.

So what is this journo-kerfuffle about? Why should we care? Nancy and Sarah get down and dirty about this week’s lightning-rod essay, and along the way …

* Nancy goes viral …

* We’re hawking Fifth Column merch, because Nancy needs closet space

* Shane Gillis sighting! Shane Gillis hug!

* Throwdown! Chick-Fil-A vs. Shake Shack

* “Running this puts Black @NYTstaffers in danger.”

* Sarah takes out her personal-essay scalpel, slices carefully

* Who is Michael Hobbes, and why did he block you?

* Southern writers are like chicken sandwiches (we swear)

* Nikole Hannah-Jones = untouchable?

* Jesse Singal = always hungry

* Why are people fighting so hard over this?

Plus: Do French fries need ketchup? Does Nancy’s face look and different after the treatment she got yesterday? Should we sell merch?